68,500-square-foot facility adding to growth at Jackson State Community College

By: Isabelle Puente

With a target date set for January 2027, construction continues on the new Workforce Training Center on the Jackson State Community College Campus.

The new center is approximately 68,500-square-feet and will allow JSCC to have almost three times as many students as before and triple their engineering systems.

Inside the building, there will be about 10 classrooms, three engineering labs and three flex labs.

The center will house workforce development training classes, the computer information technology program (CIT) and the engineering systems technology program.

“It’s going to offer a lot of extra workforce training space,” said Preston Turner, Director of Physical Plant at JSCC. “CIT, which is a program that’s already on campus will move into the building,

“It will make way for additional space in the McWherter Center but there will be a lot of training opportunities for the community.”

Not only will the center be available to students already enrolled at JSCC but, it will also offer workforce training for community and industry needs. With the building being relatively large and allowing extra space, JSCC will be able to offer their Workforce Solutions Division during the regular semester.

This division gives community members an opportunity to receive certifications in industries like OSHA, On-site training and Human Resources training without having to obtain a degree.

While the training center was planned before Jackson State’s current administration, it is still part of the five-year plan JSCC recently announced titled “SEE Jackson State”.

According to Henry Kilpatrick, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at JSCC, the Greater Jackson Chamber has consistently tried to get this construction in motion for the last 15 years.

However, it wasn’t until recently that they were able to successfully get funding from the Governor’s budget.

Turner explained that JSCC is currently working on renovating the Student Center and the McWherter Center as well.

According to Turner, renovations for the Student Center are expected to begin in January or February 2027, once the Workforce Training Center is finished.

(PHOTO: Henry Kilpatrick, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at JSCC, left, and Preston Turner, Director of Physical Plant at JSCC)